Lambton County Court House and Goal

When the County of Lambton was established in 1849, Port Sarnia, being the largest town, was made the county seat.  In 1852 the county hired stone mason Alexander Mackenzie, who would go on to become Canada's 2nd Prime Minister, to erect a court house and goal (jail) in the town.  The building was an attractive 3 storey building built of field stone with the walled yard behind.  In 1912 the building caught fire and the top floor was destroyed, but the building was renovated, changing the roofline and adding an observation area on the roof.  The photo below shows the courthouse and registry office c1876.

From the collection of John Rochon

Of the thousands of cases tried there, three are remarkable as they brought upon the accused the sentence of death.

Thomas Cleary

The first execution to take place at the goal was that of Thomas Cleary(Clary) on December 5, 1862.  He had been charged in the fatal stabbing of Edward Burke.  Both men had been employed by a Mr. Barron, innkeeper, on his property 2 miles out on the London Road, chopping wood for the two months previous.  Upon completion of their work on March 17th, they along with other co-workers, refreshed themselves at the Inn.  After a while it was decided to go into town to seek further refreshment at establishments in the town, the National Hotel on Christina St. being one.

County of Lambton Gazetteer, Commercial Advertiser, and Business Directory 1864-65 p68

 While there, Burke and Cleary got into a scuffle on the front verandah and had to be separated.  Cleary stormed off in the direction of London Road while the others remained at the National.  After some time, the others decided to return to Barron's Inn, where, unbeknownst to them, Cleary had gone.  Cleary was seen to be quite agitated, going in and out of the tavern.  Suddenly, a man named Michael Welsh came in with his left hand bleeding profusely, saying Cleary had cut him while he (Welsh) was trying to separate Burke and Cleary.  Shortly afterward, Burke staggered in and collapsed to his knees, followed by Cleary, who was covered in blood.  Cleary went to the wash basin and washed himself while Burke expired from his wounds a couple of minutes after his collapse.  When accused of stabbing Burke, Cleary denied it, saying the Burke had killed himself.  The coroner, Dr. McMillan, selected a jury the next day and brought them out to Barron's Tavern to witness the post-mortem examination performed by Dr. Bucke.  Four stab wounds were found on the body, one on the hand, one behind the ear, one in the back, and one in the chest.  The cause of death had been the chest wound, which cut into the aorta.

Cleary insisted that he had not killed Burke, but that the alcohol he had consumed  was the culprit.  Having no success in having his sentence commuted, preparations were made for his execution.  At 9am Cleary was moved from his cell to the hall of the jail.  Here, he was bound and a white cap placed on his head.  Throughout the process, he prayed with two clergymen who had been with him since the day before.  Others present were Sheriff Flintoft and his deputy, the Mayor, Dr. Johnston, Dr. Shoebotham, A. Fisher, Esq., and the representatives of the press.  At 9:20 Cleary was moved to the scaffold, which had been erected level with the top of the south wall of the yard.  Ascending without assistance, he was placed on the drop by the executioner, a short, thick-set man wearing a mask.  As the cap was being drawn down over his eyes, he continued to pray.  When all was ready, Cleary said "I hope God will forgive me.  I forgive all who have injured me, and hope all I have injured will also forgive me.  O God forgive me!"  He continued to ask God to have mercy on his soul until 9:40 when the Sheriff gave the signal and the bolt was drawn.  Due to the thick rope, the 10 foot drop only partially dislocated his neck, and he struggled for several minutes until gradually all was still.  After hanging for about a half hour, he was pronounced dead by Dr. Johnston.  His body was claimed by persons convinced of his innocence and taken to the adjoining house to be prepared for burial.  He was buried in the Catholic cemetery.  There were about 400 spectators present at the execution.


Elizabeth Workman

The second exeuction came just over ten years later.  On October 26th, 1872, James Workman, a labourer who resided in Mooretown, was found dead in his bed.  As it was plainly seen that he had been severely beaten, and known that he and his wife quarreled while intoxicated, an inquest was held by Dr. Gamble, which commenced that evening and continued through Sunday.  It was discovered that Elizabeth was James' much younger 2nd wife.  Together they had a son Hugh, aged about eight.  James' older daughter, Mary, was about 20 at the time of his death and boarding with a family in Sarnia.  They lived in poverty, even though Elizabeth worked taking in washing and cleaning.  James was a very controlling man and constantly berated his wife and also beat her, especially when drunk.  Mary moved out of the house to escape his cruelty. 

Three weeks before James' death a new barber shop opened in Sarnia run by a black man named Samuel Butler.  He hired Elizabeth to do his washing and clean his shop.  She and Butler struck up a friendship, and soon he was visiting the Workman home in Mooretown, bringing whiskey for Elizabeth and James.  On October 24th Elizabeth went to Sarnia to clean Butler's shop against her husbands wishes.  He arrived at the establishment in a drunken rage and had heated words with Elizabeth insisting that she accompany him home.  Butler, annoyed by the scene, roughly put James out of the shop.  Perhaps to end the upheaval, Elizabeth left with him.  She and James quarreled that night and she took a mop handle to him, requiring him to take to his bed.  The next day, while still confined to bed, James again berated Elizabeth for the way she treated him the day before, so she tied him to the bed and took the mop handle to him again.  James died of his injuries the next day.  Elizabeth and Butler were charged with the murder of James Workman, however, Elizabeth testified that Butler had no knowledge of her actions.  During her trial, public sentiment grew strong for Elizabeth's cause, with support coming in from all parts of the province.  When she was found guilty and sentenced to death, the jury recommended mercy, which would commute her death sentence to life in prison.  Petitions were distributed gathering hundreds of signatures in support of mercy including the county Sheriff, the Mayor of Sarnia and future Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie.  But all to no avail.  Elizabeth became the one and only instance of a woman in Canadian Law to be denied mercy when it was requested from the jury and public opinion.  Racial, social and economic factors of the day all converged to act against her.  Here she was, a woman who dared to attack and murder her husband, who also befriended a black man and was of the lower social class - well, she had to be made an example of.  She was executed in the goal yard just after 9am on June 19th 1873.  She said she hoped her case would be an example to all wives with drunken husbands, and all husbands with drunken wives.  Once pronounced dead, the rope was cut, dropping her into a pit below dug expressly for that purpose.  She still clutched a bunch of flowers she had brought with her in her hand.  Flowers were placed over her heart and she was buried on the spot and to my knowledge, she has not been removed from that spot.

For a more in-depth look into this fascinating case, read the excellent article written by Scott Gaffield entitled Justice Not Done: The Hanging of Elizabeth Workman.  If you Google the title, it will come up.


Stephen Kiyoshk

The 3rd and final execution to take place at the Lambton County goal would not come for another 69 years, but only due to a change in witness testimony.

Stephen Kiyoshk was a native resident of Walpole Island who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death once before, in 1912, only to be acquitted by a new trial, when the key witness, who would immediately after the trial become his wife, altered her testimony in his favour.

He was again tried for murder for the August 17, 1940 death of Jerry Blackbird.  From testimony it was established that Mrs. Kiyoshk and Mr. Blackbird were in an intimate relationship.  Stephen went over to Blackbird's and the two drank heavily, and while drunk Kiyoshk brutally murdered Blackbird in his kitchen, then dragged his body down to his boat, chained the body to the end, and rowed out to the middle of the river, releasing the body.  He was later found at his home spattered with blood.  Being convicted of the crime, he was sentenced to hang on November 26, 1940.   At the last minute he was granted an appeal, however it was to no avail.  Stephen Kiyoshk was hanged in the goal yard about 20 minutes after midnight on January 8, 1941.  He was pronounced dead 5 minutes later.  Few people were allowed in to witness the execution and police patrolled the streets around the courthouse to keep away the morbidly curious.  His body was removed under police guard to Walpole Island for burial.


The grand old building, which had witnessed so much, was sold to developers and pulled down to make way for the Chalet Motel, now the Super 8 Motel, after serving the county for 109 years.

Sarna General Hospital

With the closing of the Sarnia General Hospital looming in the near future, I thought I would jot down a few lines about it.  The current building was erected in the early 1950's to replace the original hospital which stood directly in front of it.  The site chosen had been the site of the High School, which stood there from 1859 until the early 1890's.

Collection of John Rochon

Sarnia General was the first public hospital in Sarnia, there being a few private hospitals run out of homes.  Fund raisers called Kirmesses were held by the people of the town, featuring plays and concerts.  The cornerstone of the old hospital was laid in 1895 and the hospital opened in 1896.  It was a beautiful brick and stone structure of three floors with towers and ivy, hardwood floors and a rickity elevator. 

Sarnia Observer 16 November 1953

When the building became too small, an adddition was added to the south side along George St. in 1929.  This addition still stands and is today the oldest part of the hospital.  Eventually, the need for more space led to the erection of the present structure.  Over the years, more additions were made, and the entire block is now used save for one lot.

UPDATE:  All services except for mental health and one other that I can't remember have moved to the new building on Norman St.

Photo by John Rochon 2010

The Riverport Tavern

To look at it now, one would never imagine how beautiful this building  once was.  It's life began 123 years ago as the bank of the Alpha Oil Co.  The oil company failed just a couple of years later and was eventually purchased by Imperial Oil.  The bank building was converted into a hotel with the addition of the third floor and wrap-around balcony c1890.  It would operate under the name of the Arlington Hotel until it was purchased by the Y.W.C.A. to be used as a hostel in 1929.  It served this purpose until 1947 when it was again converted into a hotel by a man named Fisher, who changed the name to the St. Clair Hotel c1950.  It remained the St. Clair until the late 1970's when the name was changed to it's current one.

Collection of John Rochon

This once attractive building has suffered greatly over the years - the loss of the balcony and windows, the removal of the third floor and the parging of the exterior with concrete - have rendered this swan into an ugly duckling.  I'm told that the bank vault is still in the basement - I'd like to see that.

Little Mystery Solved

While reading one of Glen Phillips' picture history books of Sarnia (I believe it was the second), I saw an interesting photograph of a double funeral procession heading north down Front St., conducted by the Salvation Army.  Glen had the photo dated c1910, which turned out to be very close. 

Photo courtesy of the Archives of Canada

Anyway, I finished the book and thought nothing more of it, until one day I was walking through Lakeview Cemetery here in Sarnia and I just happened to see a large stone marked 'Salvation Army'.  Looking at the top, I was surprised to find that it was for two sisters - Bertha and Daisy Brace - who both drowned in the St. Clair river on July 16, 1909.  While pondering this tragedy, up from the depths of my memory pops the photograph I'd seen in Glen's book.  Having my camera in my pocket, I took a few photos of the stone and later hit the library to see if I could find a newspaper account of the tragedy.

Photo by John Rochon

Sure enough, listed in the index to the Sarnia Observer, I found the first detailed account in the July 17, 1909 edition on page 1.  Bertha Brace, Ensign of the local Salvation Army aged 28 and her younger sister Daisy, visiting her sisiter for the summer from Boston, MA, age 20, where visiting friends who lived on the river road near the Pere Marquette roundhouse.  The sisters decided that they would like to swim, so after donning their swimsuits, they and their friends went to the river bank.  Daisy, an excellent swimmer, was some distance from shore while Bertha, who could not swim, was content to wade in the cool water near shore.  Wading out to be near her sister, Bertha suddenly dropped into the channel bank - a drop of thirty to forty feet.  Struggling in the water, she grabbed hold of Daisy and they both went under.  Their friends on shore did not realize the trouble they were in until one of the women re-surfaced and cried out, waving her arms.  Even though immediate assistance was had from the nearby chain works, the women were pulled down and swept away by the strong currents.

Photos from the Sarnia Observer July 20, 1909

One week later, July 23, 1909, a Mr. Charles Conkey was rowing down the river looking for the body of his brother who drowned in Lake Huron on July 17th, when he found the body of a young woman about 3 miles below where the tragedy occurred.  The body was identified as that of Daisy Brace by her father,  who had arrived here on the 22nd from Charlottetown, P.E.I..  Shortly after 7pm the same day Bertha's body was found about a mile below Corunna.  The coroner, Dr. Logie, seeing no reason for an inquest, had the bodies released to the G.L. Phillips funeral home.  The funeral was held from the Salvation Army Citadel on Front St. on Sunday, July 25, 1909.  Services were conducted by Lieut.-Col. Sharp, of London, Provincial Commeander for the Salvation Army in this district.

The site of the tragedy was notorious for the number of people who drowned there.

Beginning...

I really don't know what I'm doing here, so please bear with me.  One of my greatest interests and passions is local Sarnia history, perhaps since we don't have a museum and I can see our history and our heritage being disbursed out of the city to the highest bidder.  Sarnia, as a city, is losing it's identity and it's rich and varied culture each and every day as artifacts are either sold or given to outside interests simply for want of a museum in which to house them in.  It grieves me to know that in order to thoroughly study the history of my hometown, I have to travel to London or Toronto, while in many of the smaller communities within Lambton County, residents have only to walk a few blocks to their local museums.

I spent a couple of days in Goderich, ON recently and was blown away by that town - they have not only decided to acknowledge their history and culture, they revel in preserving it to the point of putting much larger cities to shame.  They have a magnificent museum complex - the most impressive that I've ever seen - in a city that is filled with grand old homes in wonderful states of repair.  They take great pride in their heritage and it shows, not just in certain sections of the city, but throughout - and Sarnia is 10 times larger than Goderich!!

So, my mission is to establish this blog as a way - my own little way - of preserving what little pieces of my hometown that I can, while I can, with the hopes that someday we'll have a proper place within our city to show-off our unique past and it's very important place in not only Canadian history, but world history.

Electrified Sarnia Street Railway car at Lake Huron Park c1905

Collection of John Rochon

The Sarnia Street Railway was established in 1874-75 with horse-drawn cars.  In 1901 the line was electrified.  Service continued until Feb. 1931, when the depression coupled with the use of bus services forced the Sarnia Street Railway to fold.